I am now between these two schools for finance. For Northeastern I would have to spend my first year in London and am wondering if that would negatively impact my chances at either of these jobs. Northeastern would be about 25k more cumulative debt after 4 years. So I am curious if they are comparable or if Northeastern is much better for finance. Thanks!
Personally: 1) I am not a fan of the first year abroad programs; 2) I donât see any way Northeastern is worth a significantly increased debt level; and 3) I donât think either college will give you an advantage over the other.
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Babson is one of the few schools that might. Highly respected business school. Great approach to teaching and learning which is hard to find anywhere else. Cross registration available at Brandeis, Wellesley, and Olin.
In a straight up comparison between Babson and Northeastern, it would be an easy choice for me to pick Babson over Northeastern hands down. Throw in the additional factors of the London start and the extra debt and itâs a no brainer. Babson.
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I get worried when I read this, like both have debt but one $25k more.
Neither is likely to get you to IB but they are possible and if they require too much debt (like more than $27k total over four years), Iâd scrap both and start again.
But all things equal - going abroad year one wonât hurt career wise but Iâd prefer Babson.
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Finance 101 says Babson. Less debt - same degree.
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Really need more information to make a good recommendation, atlhough you can achieve your goals from either school.
How much debt is needed to finance Babson? If you identify as female, I would be more likely to not recommend Babson, but for some it can be a good fit, it just depends on oneâs personality and how they perceive the environment. Just know you are walking into a competitive bro culture.
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Why would you not recommend Babson for a female?
I said that in my post.
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Tagging @Catcherinthetoast to add his perspective and linking his AMA on IB.
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@Mwfan1921 expressed my views in a more succinct way than I am capable ofâŠ.
In terms of IB placement, I see the two schools as mid tier peers. No major winner between the two.
I tend not to be a âcheaper is betterâ mantra repeater but in this case I wouldnât spend up if the deciding factor is anticipated placement. I would instead focus on other âfitâ factors to differentiate and if all things wind up as comparable, cheaper is better.
Thatâs my overly verbose version of the solid advice you already have receivedđ. Congratulations on strong options.
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Interesting. I know a female that graduated around 4 years ago and loved Babson. But as you stated you need to know the culture.
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Okay. I thought you might elaborate on that. I do know what youâre talking about with the bro culture there, but Iâm not aware that young women have any problem handling that.
My first introduction to the Babson experience was through the daughter of friends of ours. She loved Babson and has gone on to a successful and highly lucrative career in the NYC business world. Them another friendâs daughter went there with the same result.
Hereâs a link to an article about the positives for young women on a campus where there are equal or more men than women vs female dominated campuses which are more common today:
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I donât think either really are IB target schools. Both are probably the same prestige or rank/level, but with the semester abroad and higher cost of NEU being less desirable. However, a cousin of mine attended Babson and hated it. He dropped out and is now just finishing up his schooling at a small college back home. It was just not a good fit for him. I have a feeling it does indeed have the bro culture. I hear good things about NEUs abroad program, but I donât think the cost is worth it. Donât know much about Babson other than what I was told and when I stayed at the hotel there visiting the area, but I would for sure visit the school and learn as much as possible before committing to it. Itâs a very specialized school and is not your typical college (but neither is NEU). Do you have other less atypical options that youâd consider?
OP- I cannot predict the future, but Iâm willing to bet dinner that by the time you are deep into recruiting for a post-BA job, the strategies and hiring targets of the firms you think you are interested in will have changed significantly. I donât know that AI is the answer to every problem, but there seems to be evidence that it will mean the folks who understand the âplumbingâ (i.e. Math, Computer Scientists, Engineers) are going to be in greater demand than the folks who right now are creating Powerpoints and spreadsheets and updating excel models (i.e. associates at Investment Banks). I attended a recent Perplexity demo and it was awesome and scary. It took about 8 minutes to generate the kind of presentation that would take an entry level banker two days. The first iteration was correct in terms of content, but the tone was off. So new commands- and the second iteration was much better. And the third was just about as good as a human being would have done. The audience- people who recruit talent for large global organizations- were stunned. How many associates does it take to issue commands? Not as many as it takes to generate the current massive âanalyze, edit, then do it over againâ workflow!
So I wouldnât pick a college based on I-banking. As others have pointed out, neither of these two is typically considered a âcore schoolâ. So figure out what you are looking for intellectually and socially and everything else- and go with that. Too hard to thread the needle on the labor markets in the future.
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It is a bit of a complicated situation with finances. I will take on about 85k in loans but I will not be paying it off all by myself. My parents are going to purchase a 2nd home so they want to get it sooner rather than later, after that then they will start to help me significantly.
I see. Normally Iâd say $85k is waaaaaayyyy too much and you should go another direction, but they are purposely utilizing their funds for another purchase.
This is a costly use of money (loans have fees and high interest) so itâs a bit of a dangerous swap but if they are comfortable with itâŠ..
If they werenât buying a second home, would you need any loans?
$85k in loans is a lot. Do you have a firm plan in place to take out these loans? Do you have a firm commitment from your parents to repay a certain amount?
Have you visited both schools?
They are currently going to contribute 50k a year, hence the 85k in loans. If they werenât planning on getting a second home in the next 3 years then they would have been able to comfortably pay completely.
I have visited both schools and definitely preferred Babson in my tour, especially since I am from a small highschool. I personally am not too worried about the debt because I know they will help me with at least half and other milestones down the road.
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So here are the facts as I read them.
âYou definitely prefer Babson.
âYou can start with the rest of your class in the fall of your freshman year at Babson.
âBabson is less expensive.
âBabson is outstanding for business.
Given the above, I personally would stop agonizing, send a deposit into Babson, and buy a Babson hoodie!!
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